Dissertation Research: Abiotic and Biotic Control of Tree Regeneration: An Experimental Comparison of Sites Around Gatun Lake, Panama

9801320 Terborgh和Asquith这项工作的重点是为什么热带森林支持非同寻常的物种多样性水平，以及干扰后减少多样性的因素。方法是将监测和操纵结合起来，对巴拿马被隔离超过85年的森林碎片进行管理。这些森林斑块是1912年修建巴拿马运河的副产品。这些森林碎片已经被证明遭受了森林树种的损失。将森林碎片中的物种多样性与附近完好的森林进行比较，将提供这段时间内树木物种丧失程度的指示，操纵性实验将为导致这种多样性丧失的机制提供证据。具体地说，将在不同哺乳动物群落的森林中测量发芽率、种子捕食率、苗木食草率和存活率，其他实验将侧重于土壤水分对苗木存活的影响。这些实验将提供对造成受干扰热带森林生物多样性丧失的机制的洞察。

9801320 Terborgh and Asquith This work focuses on the question of why tropical forests support an extraordinary level of species diversity and the factors that reduce diversity following disturbance. The approach is to combine both monitoring and manipulations in forest fragments in Panama that have been isolated for over 85 years. These forest patches were created in 1912 as a byproduct of the construction of the Panama Canal. Such forest fragments have been shown to have suffered forest tree species loss. Comparison of species diversity in forest fragments with nearby intact forests will provide an indication of the extent of tree species loss during this period of time and manipulative experiments will provide evidence for mechanisms driving this loss of diversity. Specifically, rates of germination, seed predation, seedling herbivory and survivorship will be measured in forests with different mammal communities and other experiments will focus on effects of soil moisture on seedling survival. These experiments will provide insights into the mechanisms that drive loss of biodiversity in disturbed tropical forests.